Table build thread - lots of pics

jimreed777

You didn't build that...somebody else made that happen.....  

:-\"

Chunky_Charc

What a cool shop...nolaegghead

And a cool table ETBee

nolaegghead

Chunky_Charc said:

What a cool shop...nolaegghead

And a cool table ETBee

Thanks!  Katrina trashed the old shed, so I tore it down and built a bigger building.  Worked nights and weekends and it took a good year, but it's a nice haven and I love building stuff - metal, wood...  Made two egg tables, so I've double checked that off the bucket list.

tgkleman

+1 on the woodworking.  Between my woodworking shop,  the BGE and a nasty golf habit I hardly have time for work.

wicomico

I to have a table made of cypress. A retired cabnet maker made it with curved ends as well, Treated it with Cabots Austrailan Timber Oil and it is awesome.3 coats and it is super waterproof with a beautiful natural finish. Will try to post some photos soon. I use a cover too but the table repels rain and the egg doesn't care if is rainingI

chuff

nolaegghead said:

Is that open wall space!?  What I'd do for that in my shop.  Every square inch has stuff stored on it. 

Wow. Someone here has diverse interests. I thought I was bad with hobbies all over the map.

mrjwhit

Wow, I am trying to find the delete button for my pics of my table. 

ETBee

I made lots of progress on the Egg table. Now that the table top and the legs were done, I could set the dimensions of the aprons. I used the underside of the table top to lay out exactly where the legs would go and measured the resulting distance between each leg. I was surprised how far out I had to push the legs to fit the large Egg. Since I bought a BGE cover for it, I was trying to stay within the 24 inch width the cover was made to fit. I had to push the top aprons out as far as I could so they would not interfere with the 21 inch opening in the table top.

Then it was time to cut the mortise and tenon joints. There were 16 in all for the legs and aprons.

　

Looking at it now I should have made the tenons a little beefier. Hopefully 3/8 inch thick will be strong enough.

With the joints on all the aprons cut it was time to dry assemble the structure and see how everything fit. This was also an opportunity to record measurements for the lower shelf and the braces that will go in the middle of each shelf and under the Egg.

　

Unfortunately, I didn't like the way it looked when assembled. It was too "blockish". I decided to cut some arches into the aprons to soften the lines a little. I marked those using a 21 inch radius on the short aprons and a 14 foot radius on the long aprons. I cut them on the bandsaw then sanded to get them all consistent. They didn't come out perfect, but they aren't too bad.

　

Next I dry assembled everything again to fit the braces. I like the look of the aprons a lot more now.

I cut one brace for the center of the table top and one for the lower shelf. I added two more heftier ones to help support the weight of the Egg. (8 more mortise and tenons!)

　

Now it was time to cut the lower shelf to size. Just like the top, the shelf was made by gluing several boards together and sanding smooth. It is just a plain rectangle and needs to have notches cut at each corner to fit between the legs. The notches were cut on the bandsaw.

　

I tried to leave a gap around each leg to allow for expansion and contraction of the shelf without pushing against the legs. I hope this is enough of a gap.

　

Here is a sequence of photos of the entire table assembly. First the lower aprons and braces.

　

Then the lower shelf.

　

Then the upper aprons and braces.

　

Then the table top.

　

And finally the tile.

　

You may have noticed the distance between the lower shelf and the table top is greater than the 15 inches needed for the large Egg. I thought the table didn't look right with only 15 inches between the shelves and I also thought I'd have trouble storing stuff on the lower shelf with such a small gap (10 inches) between the lower shelf and upper apron. So I decided to lower the shelf and build a platform to raise the Egg to the necessary height. The platform, and lots of sanding and finishing are coming up next.

 

 

 

mrjwhit

jimreed777 said:

You didn't build that...somebody else made that happen.....  

:-\"

Man , stop it! 

jay75

I'm not jealous... MUCH !

Hillbilly-Hightech

HOLY CRAP!!!!  

I deliberately was NOT looking at "table pic" threads until I got my table finished (just got it done - should wheel it out tomorrow & set the Egg in, and be cooking off of it not long after that).  

I was *gonna* post pics, but after seeing the BEAUTIFUL work that ETBee & some others have done w/ their tables - I'm farkin ashamed now!!!  ^:)^

This table, along w/ some others I've seen - are works of ART - PLAIN & SIMPLE!!  :x

dweebs0r

This table, along w/ some others I've seen - are works of ART - PLAIN & SIMPLE!!  :x

+1  I wish I had the tools and skills to build something this nice. 

ETBee

I really didn't mean to make anyone else feel bad about their own tables.  I've seem some real works of art on this forum that make my efforts look pedestrian.  I merely wanted to give others some idea of how things can be done and maybe draw some advice from people who have gone before me and learned lessons.  These forums are all about sharing knowledge and learning from the experience of others.

I am posting this thread on a BGE forum and not on a woodworking forum I frequent.  The guys on that forum are master woodworkers and I am a hack compared to them. But I love seeing how they produce beautiful work and learning how they do it.  I hope this thread is inspriring others to say, "If that guy can do it, I can too."

nolaegghead

@ETBee - Everyone wants to see nice tables, especially those that are made at home shops.  The majority of owner-made tables for the egg made follow the Naked Wiz or BGE designs, so it's refreshing to see a different design style. 

I'd take those comments as compliments and keep on posting!

I built my table and another similar one for a friend using the same design elements as yours - aprons with mortise and tenon joinery into the legs, monolithic top and shelf with expansion gaps, sliders.  It's an age-old technique - much older than drywall screws on butt-joints. 

That type of construction should outlast metal fasteners, and the design allows you to encapsulate the wood from moisture better.

Only things I did different was use Domino floating tenons and I used epoxy rather than white glue, which is probably overkill, but I have a pump dispenser system so it didn't take much extra work.  Keep up the good work.

Hillbilly-Hightech

ETBee - no, no, no!!!  I don't feel "bad" and don't ever stop posting beautiful table pics!!  I just meant that my woodworking skills pale in comparison, so if I ever wanna make something out of wood look so beautiful & professional, I've really gotta up my game!!  

Prior to starting my table, the only "wood working" experience I had was framing / construction.  So w/ that in mind, my table looks pretty much like that (ie, no finish carpentry or nice, neat looking joints, etc).  

However, I learned a LOT in this "Egg-sperience", and bought quite a few new wood working tools (much to the chagrin of my GF), and increased my skills & knowledge immensely!!  

If I were to do it over again, obviously there would be a lot of things I'd do differently (mortise & tenon joints instead of butt joints, for example).  Heck, b4 I started this project, I didn't even know what a "mortise & tenon" joint was (had thought it was a "moriss & tendon" joint) hehehe... 

Anyway, the point is that it was fun, it increased my knowledge, I learned a lot, and now I know what I didn't know before... Perhaps one of these days I'll be able to produce beautiful works of art like what you & others can do.  

Till then, just gotta keep on makin' sawdust!! ^:)^

ETBee

Today wasn't much of a "shop" day...more of a "shopping" day. I set out to my local Home Depot and Lowes stores to find a 17 or 18 inch round paver. I think the bottom of a large BGE is about 16 inches in diameter and I had decided the platform necessary to raise my Egg was going to be round. Why? Because I've never made anything round. Square would look too "blockish" and I already decided I didn't like that. Would you believe that neither store had anything round? I already had a 20 inch square paver so I spent $5 on a masonary cutting blade and figured I could make an 18 inch round out of the 20 inch square. I started by drawing an 18 inch circle on the square paver. I drilled a hole in the center of the paver, then I cut off the corners. I put a scrap piece of plywood under the paver to avoid scratching up the surface of my table saw.I drove a screw through the bottom of the scrap plywood and clamped it so it was exactly 9 inches from the masonary blade. This screw would fit into the hole at the center of the paver. I set the paver on the screw and rotated it until it was round. I raised and lowered the blade many times in the process.  I don't think I have ever had a bigger mess in my shop. Dust was everywhere - much worse than anything I have experienced with wood. I may spend the next day or so cleaning up before I can move forward. But I have my 18 inch round paver now!The next step is to figure out how to build a round wooden "tube" to support the paver.  I'm not sure how I am going to do that yet.

Outcast

@ETBEE, describe the "tube" you want to make.  I may have made something like that with stave construction and trued up on a lathe. 

ETBee

If an 8-sided thing is an octogon, what do you call a 12-sided or 16-sided thing?  I picture making something like that and rounding it on the table saw the same way I rounded the paver. I do not have a lathe.

Do you think that might work?  If I go with 16 sides, I think each piece has edges cut at 11.25 degrees.  I need to compute the length of each side to get an 18 inch outside radius, but I should probably plan for a 19 inch outside radius so the paver sits inside the "tube".  This is going to be tricky.

Outcast

Your angle is correct for 16 sides.  It is always 180 divided by the number of staves.  The get the width of the stave multiply the finished dimension you want by pi (3.1415) and divide by the number of staves you want.  In the case of 19" outside diameter with 16 sides, its 3.7305.  I'd round that up to 3 3/4".  The glue up can be tricky with 16 sides.  I've had good sucess with gluing up two sides at a time.  Then you have eight pieces.  Then glue up two of those so you have 4 pieces, and so on until you have two pieces.  Take some adhesive 180 grit sandpaper and lay it on a good flat surface [table saw or some dead flat MDF] and then flatten the mating edges out.  From there glue up the two halves and you are done. 
I find a circle jig on the band saw works better for me than the table saw method. 

FxLynch

Wow that is definitely some top craftsmanship.  I love seeing what some people can do with the correct tools and skills.  Kudos, I can't wait to see the finished product!

Any ideas on a stain or finish yet?

Ragtop99

very cool to see this come together.  Great tools and excellent skill.  

I'm thrilled when simple miter cuts actually mate up.  )

Vitaman

I love watching the progress on this table. Keep up the good work.

Jeff

ETBee

FxLynch said:

Any ideas on a stain or finish yet?

I was planning to leave the wood it's natural color and just finish it with several coats of spar varnish.  I expect that will add a yellowish tint to the cypress.  I don't know what to expect as the table ages.

trip150

Nola - well done with the shop. Very nice shop! There seems to be a 2x3" area by your clock! Well, maybe not...

smasch

Well, now my wife has inspired me.  I'm under direction to build a table that will look like furniture for the deck.  NOT the CCA table that is currently quite functional.  Problem is, this could cut into the next egg budget.  Decisions, decisions.  A cool side note that works in my favor, my 11 y/o son and 8 y/o daughter want an egg that is their own.  Hope is alive!

EGGASM

ETBee,  your handywork is inspiring!  Awesome job!  What is the approximate cost of the cypress for this table?  It's pretty pricey in North Florida.  That 22" cypress cutout would make a nice end table top!  Thanks for the posts.

 

ETBee

This weekend was dedicated to a design change. Based on some earlier comments on this board, I really had to re-think the idea of recessing a tile in the top of the table. To allow for expansion and contraction of the wood, I had to leave a gap around the tile or the table top could tear itself apart. It was pointed out the gap would be a place for water to collect, or juices, or other bad things. I had to change the design...but the 18 inch recess was already cut. I found a place in town that makes Corian counter tops and picked up a piece of scrap. I cut it to 19 inches square, rounded over the top, and cut out the underside so it will sit in the recess I already cut. This will allow the Corian to overhang the recess and help seal out water and juices. This stuff works beautifully with normal woodworking tools. It cuts easier than oak, but gives off a bit of a "burning plastic" smell. The scrap piece I got had some scratches, so I sanded it with 120 - 220 - 400 - and finally 600 grit sandpaper. I wiped it with mineral spirits and the finish looked very nice. (BTW, 600 grit sandpaper is not too much different than the toilet paper at my office!) Here's a comparison of the table top with the tile and with the Corian. This is the rounded over top edge of the Corian. This is the bottom recess so it fits in the table top.  The rest of my efforts for the weekend will be sanding. Necessary but not very photogenic.

ETBee

EGGASM said:

ETBee,  your handywork is inspiring!  Awesome job!  What is the approximate cost of the cypress for this table?  It's pretty pricey in North Florida.  That 22" cypress cutout would make a nice end table top!  Thanks for the posts.

I don't remember the exact per-board-foot cost, but it was something less than $3. It isn't very expensive here in Tennessee. I think the total purchase of rough lumber was about $170. This is not "sunk cypress", just the normal above ground stuff.

That's not a bad idea about using the scrap round cutout to make a small table. I may just utilize some of the extra Corian and make a little table that picks up the look of the Egg table.  I have three 4-foot boards left over I can use to make legs.  Thanks for the idea! 

dweebs0r

ETBee, what part of TN do you live in?  Munford, TN here (close to Memphis).  When you are done with this one, would you consider building a second table to sell?

ETBee

dweebs0r said:

ETBee, what part of TN do you live in?  Munford, TN here (close to Memphis).  When you are done with this one, would you consider building a second table to sell?

I'm in Knoxville, about 350 miles from you.  I don't think I'm good enough to be selling anything.  Besides, I really need to get out of the shop and start grilling something.  I keep looking at other posters' photos of brisket and chicken and Boston butts on the Egg and I want to get after it!!!!